Development and design company won massive contract to develop and design new rocket engines

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Inc. today announced it has won a $1.2 billion NASA contract for the design development of rocket engines for the next generation of spacecrafts. NASA awarded the funds Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne to develop and test a J-2X engine that will power the upper stages of the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles.

"We are very proud to have been selected by NASA to power the return of
U.S. astronauts to the moon and beyond,” said Stephen Finger,
president, Pratt & Whitney. “This contract award is another
important milestone in the partnership between Pratt & Whitney
Rocketdyne and NASA, which spans more than half a century.”

The two vehicles are part of the Orion program to send astronauts and cargo back to the moon before the year 2020. The program builds upon the legacy of the Apollo-Saturn Program. Liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen powers the J-2X, which provides 294,000 pounds of thrust to power the Ares vehicles.

The newly formed contract includes ground and flight-testing and extends through December 31, 2012.

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